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40% Fraser Valley Organic Medium Rye

40% Fraser Valley Organic Medium Rye

Today I was on a mission. To defeat this fear of developing and shaping rye dough. I learn best through video and photos and I have found that there are not nearly as many video tutorials for rye breads as there are for white breads. I used a 40% formula and followed all that I have learned on this site as much as possible. My last week's attempt came up short with little rise/oven spring. This time, a combination of longer bulk ferment and proof times, along with an amazing organic medium rye flour from a local mill, produced loaves that I am finally happy with. Not to mention Dumbo sized ears that I have never achieved before. Flavour is lightly rye, with a definite sour tang.

Shaping was done in air with wet hands, and proofed in brotforms for almost 2 hours at 78 degrees.

Crumb shot a day later. Any suggestions/comments on the crumb from the rye experts out there?

Comments

pretty good rye bread but it is better than that. It's about the best 40% rye to be found anywhere. Nice baking man! the crumb just has to be good. Can't that turkey roaster of yours for putting a crust on bread :-)

Thanks dabrownman! You should have seen the look on my face when I lifted the lid after 15 minutes of baking. Quite a nice surprise. I am happier than ever about the turkey roaster method for sure. I learned last week to not slice up the loaf until fully cooled so I will update tomorrow with crumb photos and taste. Thanks again for your comments. Made my night.

Those are some beautiful breads. Great job on the scoring too. Do you bake the whole thing in a turkey roaster? I've heard about just using the lid over the loaves, so was curious, because your picture seems to show the whole roaster.

Thank you Linda. I bake the whole thing in the roaster on parchment paper. Mainly due to not having a baking stone YET. It is working well enough for now. I just pour about 1/2 cup boiling water into the roaster then load it up with the slashed dough on parchment. The water does not touch the dough as I have the bottom lined loosely with aluminum foil.

What beauties. I love the crust colors! Are your Brotforms 9" long? If so, how much dough did you use in them?

I love your scoring pattern on the loaf you shot from a bird's eye view. I am going to try to copy it on my next attempt at a batard shape. I haven't found a scoring pattern I like yet for my batards and yours just might be the one I have been searching for :-) Looks like the loaf opened beautifully and so evenly.

You are a very fast learner. This rye loaf knew just how to behave for you. Congratulations!

Thank you very much Janet. In this bake I used two brotforms. One 8 1/2" oblong, one regular sized round. Hard to tell from the photos but one loaf is a boule. I got the brotforms and some linen lined baskets here:

Oh and for the scoring patterns, I usually go on Google and type in 'rye bread photos' or 'boule bread photos' and tons of examples come up. I just grab a pattern I like at that moment. THIS pattern in particular was inspired by one of PiPs rye bakes I stumbled upon. That guy knows what he is doing down under.

I am really spatially challenged today :-O I look at the scoring on your loaf and my brain just can't grasp how you scored....I am baking one of Phil's loaves (Olive Herb) today and I shaped one loaf as a batard. When it came time to score my brain simply froze when I held my knife over the dough. Even looking at your loaf left me confused....Some days are just like this.

Did you score straight lines or were they curvy? I ended up scoring with curvy lines but I don't think I started high enough on the loaf. Will see. It is in the oven as I type so I will know more shortly.

Thanks for the link. I usually purchase my baskets from Brotform.com or Fantes.com. They are much more expensive BUT are made in Germany. When I purchased my first baskets a couple of years ago I didn't know the difference between ones made in Germany and the ones made in China. The ones made in China are less expensive but are not nearly as well made and the staples that hold the canes in place actually touch the dough surface and rust! The ones made in Germany don't do either so I have spent more to get the better quality.

Do you happen to know where yours was made? When I checked out the site it didn't include that info. which me thinks they are the ones made in China.

The baskets/brotforms were made in China. And yes, I do believe there would be a quality difference between the two country makes. Two of my linen liners were put in a light wash today for the first time and came out with a slight tear. Guess the stitching had weak spots. Easily fixed with a stitch or two, and next time I will probably hand wash.

As for the scoring, I barely knew what I was doing myself! I started from the top straight line then worked my way down with slightly curved 'leaves.' If you need a sketch let me know. Good luck on the loaves!

For not knowing what you were doing the scoring job sure came out nicely! Mine didn't fare as well as yours did. Not as much spring in the loaf and I didn't start my cuts high up enough on the loaf so the bread spread more than I wanted it to. (I like taller loaves.) I will give it another go some time this week when I have a dough that is more appropriate for that shape.

Watch your baskets for the metal that touches the bread. I only use my China ones with a liner if I use them at all anymore. Just too many exposed rusty staples for my comfort....

Thanks Phil. 1 tbsp 100% rye starter mixed into a medium rye levain, with all the rye flour in the levain. Some bread flour.

Very simple recipe, just finally learned the process and what signs to look for during the process. Also, thanks for the scoring inspiration. Your rye breads rock harder than Angus Young on his 60's Gibson SG.

Night before bake, prepare rye sour by mixing together all ingredients. Dust top lightly with rye flour (this will allow you to see cracks in the flour as it ferments and grows overnight). let stand overnight for 12 - 16 hours at 75 - 80 degrees.

After 12 - 16 hours, combine the final dough ingredients, excluding the salt. Mix until shaggy mass. The dough will be very sticky at this point. Let sit or autolyse for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes add the salt and knead or mix the dough for 10 - 15 minutes, or until it starts to have a smooth exterior and comes away from the bowl or surface easier. Place dough in a lightly oiled container or bowl and let bulk ferment at 78 - 80 degrees for an hour. During this hour, perform 2 stretch and folds at 20 minute intervals. I do mine in the air with wet hands. After the hour, divide the dough in two peices, lightly shape into rounds and let rest under plastic for 10 minutes. Shape the peices with wet hands into batards or boules and place seam side down in a well floured brotform or cloth lined basket. Proof for at least an hour (I proofed for 2 hours) at 80 degrees.

After proofing, upend the dough onto parchment paper, slash, and bake in a preheated oven at 450 F for 15 minutes with steam. After 15 minutes, remove steam and turn oven down to 420 F and bake for 20 minutes or until internal temperature reads 210 degrees.

Well thanks man. I appreciate the comments. To this day, I regard this particular bake as my best to date. I have tried to recreate - came close to the same results but not exactly the same aesthetics.

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